LOVE: Early football depth chart

Providing depth for this spring and beyond

Defensive coordinator John Chavis puts the linebackers through drills at a recent practice. (Photo by Maggie Bowles)

By BEN LOVE
Tiger Rag Acting Editor

When it comes to LSU football, Les Miles calls the shots. He pushed the start of spring practices back to Monday of this week to accommodate newly hired tight ends coach Steve Ensminger.

And with the Tigers strapping on the pads for the first time since New Year’s Day, Miles laid out his projections recently for who will battle whom this spring for starting positions.

With few exceptions, he wouldn’t out-and-out say which players had the edge, noting that spring is a time when “no job is safe.” But Miles gave enough insight for Tiger Rag’s Ben Love to put together his best stab at a (way too early) depth chart

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown - listing each player’s classification as of next season - heading into spring practices, supplemented with quotes from the Hat himself.

* Projected starters, according to Tiger Rag, are in bold.

OFFENSE

Quarterback

Jordan Jefferson (Jr.)
Jarrett Lee (Jr.)
Chris Garrett (Fr.)

“I think Jordan Jefferson is a guy, now with a year under his belt, we can expect to reap some of the rewards of his experience. For me, it is a spot where we have to get better.”

“It’ll be more his (Jordan’s) team. I think that’ll happen.”

“I think Chris Garrett has had a really good freshman year, and I think he’ll be in a position to apply some pressure.”

TR: Jefferson’s the guy. Miles has seen too much of his LSU coaching career with underclassmen under center. He sounds prepared to go with experience, and he believes in Jefferson’s development.

Running Backs

HB - Stevan Ridley (Jr.)
Richard Murphy (Sr.)
Michael Ford (Fr.)

FB - Dominique Allen (So.)
Thomas Parsons (So.)
Richard Dugas (Sr.)

“We’re gonna run it with more attitude, and I think our football team will be better for it.”

“At running back, I think I went through the list and kinda how I see it, it’s Ridley first, Murphy second, Ford third. But again, it’s the best. I wouldn’t be afraid of seeing Michael Ford take snaps.”

“The fullback spot is gonna be an interesting (battle). I don’t know that we have that one lined out just yet.”

TR: Regarding fullback, Miles went on to say that he’s also anxious for the on-campus arrival of true freshman FBs Travis Dickson and Brandon Worle in June.

Wide Receiver

Terrance Toliver (Sr.)
Rueben Randle (So.)
Russell Shepard (So.)
Chris Tolliver (So.)
DeAngelo Peterson (Jr.)

“Offensively, I think everybody knows that we’ll be pretty talented at wide receiver.”

“He (Shepard) is all at wide receiver in his mind. He’ll get ball handling and running back play as a side-light to his receiver’s position … It gets him on the field every down. When you’re a quarterback, it’s very difficult to get him on the field every play.”

TR: Miles indicated that Terrance Toliver and Shepard had the best “coaching sessions” of the group, with Randle coming on late and Chris Tolliver beginning to mature as well. Also, he said Shepard won’t be solely limited to WR, and that he’ll “pick up bits and pieces” of opportunites at other positions.

Tight End

Chase Clement (So.)
WR/TE DeAngelo Peterson (Jr.)
Mitch Joseph (Jr.)
Tyler Edwards (So.)

“We just think that for (Clement’s) future, (tight end) is really where we need him. He’s tall, very athletic, has good ball skills. Frankly, he’s good. He should play. And he should play a lot.”

TR: Clement moving to tight end is probably the most impactful position change this spring (along with Shepard concentrating on receiver).

Offensive Line

LT - Joseph Barksdale (Sr.)
Chris Faulk (Fr.)
LG - Will Blackwell (Jr.)
Josh Williford (Fr.)
C - P.J. Lonergan (So.)
T-Bob Hebert (Jr.)
RG - Alex Hurst (So.)
Josh Williford (Fr.)
RT - Josh Dworaczyk (Jr.)
Chris Faulk (Fr.)

“We’re gonna find the best five on the offensive line. Barksdale can play the left side, he can play the right side. We will fit him the best way we can. But we’re gonna have five guys who are coming-off-the-football, physical guys.”

“(At guard) it’ll be Alex Hurst or Will Blackwell or one of these young guys like Josh Williford, who just cannot be kept out of the line-up … We’ll have the opportunity to move guys around to fit whoever’s the best, fifth, considering that we think Dworaczyk and Barksdale (will start) and maybe P.J. Lonergan, or T-Bob Hebert, either one, is best at center. Respectively, somewhere in there is a starter and we can adjust it to find the next guys.”

TR: This was far and away the toughest category to project, simply because Miles feels a number of these guys - namely Barksdale, Dworaczyk, Hurst, Williford and Blackwell - can play multiple positions. Expect musical chairs for awhile until there’s no longer a square peg ramming into a round hole. Also, should T-Bob win the job at center, look for Lonergan to also be in the mix at either guard position. (UPDATE: With Alex Hurst practicing some at tackle on Monday, it’s possible he could start at RT and allow Dworacyzk to stay at his more customary RG spot.)

DEFENSE

Defensive Line

DE - Lavar Edwards (So.)
Chancey Aghayere (So.)
Ken Adams (Jr.)
Sam Montgomery (Fr.)
Barkevious Mingo (Fr.)

DT - Pep Levingston (Sr.)
Michael Brockers (Fr.)
Chris Davenport (Fr.)
Drake Nevis (Sr.)
Josh Downs (So.)

“Ken Adams, the newcomer, is a guy who, in my opinion, will give us great speed off the edge and really has the exact right look you want at about 6′5″ or 6′6″ and about 240 (pounds). Really quick, really fast, really athletic … He went through these coaching sessions without much difficulty, which really tells you a lot about his maturity and his ability.”

“I think we’ll be fine inside. I think that group with Pep and Brockers and Chris Davenport and Drake Nevis will be something else.”

TR: Miles indicated both Brockers and Davenport will be making the move inside. And even though Edwards and Aghayere could get the nods at end, expect Adams to factor in to a lot of pass-rushing situations. Also, Downs is currently suffering from a thigh pull.

Linebackers

MLB - Kelvin Sheppard (Sr.)
Kyle Prater (So.)
Kevin Minter (Fr.)

OLB - Ryan Baker (Jr.)
Stefoin Francois (Jr.)
Lamin Barrow (Fr.)
Josh Johns (Fr.)
Rockey Duplessis (Fr.)

“Kelvin Sheppard certainly will provide us with leadership and give us a great example of physical play inside. And Ryan Baker, really, it’s about time for him to step forward and be the kind of guy he’s been on special teams, (where) he’s been a dominant, dominant player.”

“Lamin Barrow, Stefoin Francois, Ryan Baker and Kelvin Sheppard. That seems like the first four. Now, that doesn’t mean those guys who come in behind that won’t have a great opportunity to play.

TR: Even though Barrow has been considered a MLB throughout his career, he’ll get worked out at OLB with Baker and Francois to provide depth. With Sheppard in the middle, that’s his quickest route to playing time, according to Miles.

Secondary

CB - Patrick Peterson (Jr.)
Morris Claiborne (So.)
Ryan St. Julien (So.)
Ron Brooks (Jr.)
Drayton Calhoun (Fr.)*
*Calhoun is making the move from running back to corner.

S - Brandon Taylor (Jr.)
Craig Loston (So.*)
Jai Eugene (Sr.)
Karnell Hatcher (Jr.)
Ron Brooks (Jr.)
* LSU currently lists Loston as a rising sophomore, but Miles suspects he’ll receive a redshirt for last season.

“I don’t think that I need a 230-pound safety either. I would much prefer a guy who can fly to the ball and get to things on the hash or off the hash.”

TR: Jai Eugene will play mainly at safety now. According to Miles, “we feel like his experience and his abilities might not be best served (at corner).” Hatcher is also “nicked” with a “groin issue.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicking/Punting

K - Josh Jasper (Sr.)
Drew Alleman (So.)

P - Derek Helton (Sr.)
Josh Jasper (Sr.)

“Our punter’s back. Our kicker’s back. I think that those guys will be more mature and more consistent … I think there’s a chance that Drew Alleman could be a guy who factors in competitively at the kickoff (position). I think our specialists will be fine.”

Returning

KR/PR - Ron Brooks (Jr.)
Russell Shepard (So.)
Patrick Peterson (Jr.)
Rueben Randle (So.)

“In the return teams, I think Ron Brooks, Patrick Peterson, Russell Shepard and Rueben Randle will be guys who get a lot of opportunities. Gosh, I just like saying those names. I think they’ll be something else.”

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Ben Love is the acting editor for Tiger Rag and will report on the LSU football team this spring and next fall. Reach him at ben@tigerrag.com.